Dan Zanes

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Catch That Train!

Dan Zanes was the lead singer of the eighties pop band The Del Fuegos. After the breakup of the Del Fuegos, Zanes embarked on a short-lived solo pop career. But Zanes has achieved more success as a popular (neo-folklorist) children's music performer, not unlike Laurie Berkner, They Might Be Giants and Lisa Loeb. Zanes' children's CDs have included such guests as Sheryl Crow, Debbie Harry, Suzanne Vega, Donald Saaf, Rankin' Don, Lou Reed, Nick Cave and the Sandy Girls. His videos can be seen as interstitial programming on the Noggin TV network. In 2006, the Disney Channel began featuring Zanes’ videos during their Playhouse Disney programming, on the show Dan Zanes House Party.

The Dan Zanes and Friends band includes Colin Brooks, Barbara Brousal, Cynthia Hopkins, Rankin' Don (aka "Father Goose"), and Yoshi Waki. Zanes founded a record company called Festival Five Records which publishes his CDs and DVDs.

During 2004 the Festival Five folk released two CDs of traditional folk music, as distinct from their overtly family-oriented music. One of these was a collection of Sea shanties, while the other focussed on American folk music.

[edit] Partial Discography

Rocket Ship Beach (released 2000). Special guests: Sheryl Crow, Suzanne Vega, G.E. Smith, Simon Kirke.

Family Dance (released 2001). Special guests: Sandra Bernhard, Rosanne Cash, rubi theater group, Loudon Wainwright III.

Night Time! (released 2002). Special guests: Aimee Mann, Lou Reed, rubi theater group, Dar Williams.

House Party (released 2003). Special guests: Bob Weir, Angelique Kidjo, Deborah Harry, Philip Glass

Sea Music (released 2004).

Parades and Panoramas: 25 Songs Collected by Carl Sandburg for the American Songbag (released 2004).

Catch That Train (released in 2006). Reached #4 on the Billboard Kid Audio Charts, which studies sales of children's music releases.

[edit] Trivia

Zanes is a public supporter of several charities. Zanes donates some of the proceeds from Family Dance and Night Time! to the non-profit world hunger organization Heifer International.